The full report into the Royal Clarence Hotel fire reveals the terror for firefighters as they struggled to fight a fire they could not see.

And it reveals how there was an hour and half period on the Friday morning of the fire when it was spreading unseen, undetected and unknown to the fire crews.

During that time the crews were damping down and removing roof tiles, and the aerial ladders were no longer in use. A multi-agency meeting was called on Cathedral Green at 8.45am as all the emergency services thought the worst of the fire was over.

The report reveals how during that crucial period from 8.45am until 10.18am the fire was spreading in the 'tinder dry' old buildings.

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Cathedral Yard Fire

"It is believed that during this time, and due to the generic hazards associated with heritage buildings, the fire and smoke continued to travel and grow within the hotel undetected through voids supported by tinder dry materials.

"This led to crews continuing to strip the roof (at Castle Art Gallery at number 18 Cathedral Close) unaware that the fire was moving through the hotel, which would eventually break through the rest of the roof voids."

Then suddenly and shockingly at 10.18am smoke and fire began to bellow from the roof of the Royal Clarence Hotel after travelling unseen through hidden voids within the buildings.

The fire breaks through the roof at 10.18am

The report also details how a water shortage meant tactical choices had to be made about which area of the fire to fight.

And it goes into detail about how a gas main had still not been turned off at 10.30pm (the first 999 calls were made at 5am) because by that time the building was structurally unsafe for the gas engineers to enter.

At 2pm on the Friday afternoon one officer stated that they were fighting a fire they could hear roaring but could not see: "We wanted the fire to show itself, so that we could actually attack it.

"We could hear the fire, we could feel the fire, but we could not see it; it was travelling around through walls and voids."

They had never seen a fire like it, the report says: "Experienced fire officers, who also instruct on fire development courses, stated that they had not seen a significant escalating fire develop like it in their 28 years in the fire & rescue service."

Gas main fire:

The report explains how a gas main had still not been isolated 17 hours after the first 999 call: "At approximately 22:30 there was concern over the structural integrity of a section of the hotel that overlooked St. Martin’s Lane.

"This led to the lane being closed down, with access restricted until specialist officers monitored the movement of the building for potential collapse. This impacted on gas engineers being unable to access the gas isolation valve for the gas main within St. Martin’s Lane."

The gas main fire

This led to a another major gas fire, the report says: "As the gas main had not been isolated externally the fire damaged the internal gas pipes leading to a dramatic gas fire.

"Crews allowed the gas to continue burning under control until external isolation took place. The reason that the gas was not extinguished prior to this was that it would have created a greater danger to the crews and community as the gas would continue to escape uncontrolled and create an unmanaged explosive risk.

"Crews continued to fight the fire internally from the High Street and with aerial appliances.

"During this period the risk assessment of the incident commander was to commit BA wearers to fight the fire and save some areas of the hotel. Due to the severity and unpredictable movement of the fire development the hotel became fully involved.

"The incident commander changed their risk assessment to remove all personnel from inside the hotel and use external aerial appliances while maintaining BA and aerials within the High Street."

No water:

They had to make tactical decisions about which bit of the fire to fight because the water supply had 'over-run'. There was not enough water for some of the hoses, and crews were fighting the fire using hand held jets and the aerial appliances.

The report says: "Due to the number of hose lines being used from all sectors, the water supply was over-run leading to tactical decisions being made that the water should be diverted into the sectors that would allow the most effective firefighting."

Wall collapses:

At one stage a fireman put his hand on a wall to check the heat - and it collapsed to reveal a wall of raging flames behind it.

The report says: "One of the crews searching the rooms in the hotel placed their hand against the adjoining wall of the bedroom which collapsed into number 18; the crews were faced with a wall of raging fire."

Time Line

The Cathedral Yard Fire in Exeter, October 28, 2016

05:00

The guests at the Royal Clarence Hotel are evacuated after the fire alarm goes off. Guest Lucy Lester later shoots video on her phone of the scene on Cathedral Green as the first firefighters tackle the blaze

05:11

First call to the fire service. Some callers report fire in High Street. A total of 54 calls are received

05:12

Three fire engines mobilised

05.15

Hotel general manager John Badley is woken by call from the night manager. He is on scene in eight minutes. He later recalled: 'As I came up into Cathedral Yard I could see a vast fire in our neighbouring property. The team had already evacuated all of our guests, everybody was safe, it was done very professionally and calmly. The team did a fantastic job.'

05:18

First fire engine with on-call firefighters from Danes Castle station arrives on scene. They start tackling the fire and help the evacuation of the Royal Clarence Hotel. One of the crew recalled later: 'As we came down from the station we could see it from the clock tower. The level of the flames were above the height of The Guildhall so it was quite a spectacular sight.'

05:20

These pictures by Tom Brooks capture the extent of the fire as flames took hold of the building

05:20

Picture by Tom Brooks

05:30

More pictures published via Twitter showing the early stage of the firefighting operation while it was still dark, including this image from Joseph Knight

05:31

Firefighters told 'not all persons accounted for' and a room-by-room search is carried out at the hotel.

05:33

15 fire engines mobilised

05:40

Fifth fire engine arrives

05:42

The fire is declared a Major Incident by the emergency services

05:47

First pictures of the fire seen from High Street sent to the Express & Echo via Facebook by Rick Dew. His message: 'Laura Ashley/round house appears to be on fire. Clarence hotel just gone up too'

8:30

08:51

The Express & Echo reports all persons now accounted for. The fire service gives an update saying the fire has spread to the hotel and Waterstones book shop. 'Currently there are crews from Danes Castle, Topsham, Crediton, Exmouth, Cullompton, Ottery St Mary, Dawlish, Tiverton, Honiton, Middlemoor, Teignmouth, Sidmouth, Budleigh Salterton, Moretonhampstead, Newton Abbot and Urban Search and Rescue Specialist vehicles. Also we have many Specialist Officers on scene to provide assistance to the Fire Crews.'

09:00

A section of the High Street is closed and PCSOs are called into control access onto Cathedral Green from South Street, Southernhay and Princesshay

09:18

10:30

City centre resident Haiwen Xu joins the onlookers in Cathedral Yard and takes pictures of the fire

10:45

A large cloud of smoke is visible right across the city centre. Shoppers stop and watch from Bedford Street in Princesshay

10:55

City council leader Pete Edwards thanks the emergency services: 'Their efforts, including the evacuation of the Clarence Hotel, have been remarkable.'

11:00

With Cathedral Yard now cordoned off, Haiwen Xu joins onlookers in Princesshay, and takes more pictures as the flames burst through the roof of the hotel.

11:00

Photographer Richard Passmore climbs to the top of one of the cathedral towers to take pictures

11:06

Express & Echo reports a Fire Service spokesman confirming the fire has spread to the roof of the Royal Clarence Hotel

11:15

Flames have taken hold of the roof of the hotel and firefighters continue to tackle the blaze from both sides, as this picture from Jolyon Holyroyd shows

11:30

With parts of the city cordoned off, large crowds gather in Queen Street to look on as the firefighters work to contain the fire

11:45

The Express & Echo reports a fire service spokesman saying the roof of the Royal Clarence is now 'well alight'. There are fears it could spread to the High Street: 'It is a challenging and complex fire to fight. Firefighters are unable to enter the buildings due to the age and complexity of them. The fire has spread across roofs, and our aim is to prevent it from spreading downwards into the lower floors. Lots of timber in the buildings, and the severity of the fire, means there is a possibly it can spread to the High Street.' 85 firefighters are on the scene and the safety cordons are extended

11:49

Hettie Lillicrap takes this picture of the smoke seen from Queen Street. She says: 'It was quite surreal; the road was filled with people holding their phones up to the sky as if antennas. I don't think I've ever seen a city stand dead still like that, everyone simultaneously captivated by the same thing.'

12:00

After the initial shock, the public and businesses rally round to help the emergency services. Individuals buy food and drinks, shops, restaurants and cafes offer refreshments. This picture shows firefighters given food and drinks at Tesco in Exeter High Street

12:30

By now the cloud of smoke is visible over the city. Beth Saunders took this picture of the view from Dunsford

12:49

South West Water issues a picture showing engineers helping provide water for the firefighting operation

13:00

As the fire took hold in the Royal Clarence, workers in the M&S staff restaurant could see the fire from across High Street

13:47

People begin to realise how serious the fire is and that it involves historic buildings. Andy Baker sends in a picture of 18 Cathedral Yard, where the fire started. He says: 'Sadly it looks like the beautiful upper floor has been destroyed. Such a massive shame.'

14:00

People from miles around can see the smoke. Mark Fishlock sent this picture of the view from the east

16:30

The firefighting operation goes on as darkness starts to fall. Gina Daw sent this picture of the view from Exwick

18:54

South West Water warns supplies in Exeter have been affected by the firefighting operation, but should return to normal later

20:59

As the fire still rages, people are already looking for ways to supports the emergency services. Here's a Facebook message from Sally-Anne Goodard: 'Hi, I'm obviously shocked by the devastating fire today and extremely thankful that no one has been hurt. My heart goes out to the wonderful heroes of the emergency services. I understand that some of the local businesses have been supportive with providing food and drink to our heroes, but I was wondering how else I/we as 'jo public' could show our love and support and help out whilst they continue to battle through this dreadful incident?'

20:04

The iconic coat of arms on the front of the hotel collapses

21:30

Wedding photographer Alex Toze arrives after a shoot at a hotel in the city centre and takes a series of pictures showing how the firefighting effort continues into the night